Another trick Irmela taught me
, Violet thought grimly.
Maige slipped into the shadow next to her, smiling to Violet in greeting. Then her eyes turned to the practice area and her smile changed completely. It hadn’t been cold, directed at Violet, it just seemed so compared to the warmth it projected when she was looking at Ronay. Her whole face softened and a loving smile tugged her lips upward. Violet let her be and long moments passed before Maige seemed to remember her presence again.
“You wanted to see me?” she asked.
“I did,” Violet said. She hesitated for a second. “What do you see in him?”
Maige frowned and she hastened to add, “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m really asking. What is it that makes him so special for you?”
The other
calaya
smiled, backing off.
“Honestly?” she asked. “I don’t know. How do you go about explaining love?”
Love
, thought Violet.
We are
calayas.
Stupid tough questions… Violet couldn’t bring herself to ask what Maige would do if Ronay couldn’t pick her. If he perished or someone else chose her.
“And him?” she asked instead.
“Yes,” was all Maige said.
They were quiet after that – Violet was too busy holding her principles from crumbling. For years she’d built this personality and now it was being ripped from her grasp. Only when she’d finally been left alone and the world slowed down, had she been able to consider everything that had happened. And the Prince’s letter had been the last blow.
All of them were hurting her – Irmela, the Overlord, Maige and Ronay, the Prince and Areon. Why couldn’t it all be simple? Her way was better. Her way, she wouldn’t get hurt. She wouldn’t end up like Irmela.
Who had that man been? The one Irmela had really rooted for.
She hadn’t thought much of Maige’s actions when they’d climbed over the ledge. It occurred to her much later that while she figured out what the Overlord was doing, Maige hadn’t. Everything she’d done had been driven by her love. She’d dared to face certain death for him. Irmela had said she was proud of all of them. In Violet’s eyes, only Maige had really passed their test.
Love. In the spider web, Maige had stared at Ronay alone. The one her heart belonged to. Maybe not the ultimate champion, maybe not the best – just hers. That’s when Violet realized that what she had done was look at Areon. She hadn’t been trying to figure out where the Prince was – she’d been thrust out of her comfort zone by the idea of Areon dying.
Violet didn’t want to end up like Irmela. They were
calayas
. They lived a comfortable, pretty life with no concerns whatsoever. But love was something they didn’t dare to dabble in. It was too risky, too terrible to have it denied to them. Their life was their champion’s and that was all. Favoring someone was provoking fate to come and take it all away. Violet still couldn’t shake the image of Irmela’s sad eyes. That would
not
be her!
“You’re so much braver than I am,” she told Maige.
The other
calaya
looked at her, surprised. “I only jumped after you did.”
Violet laughed bitterly. “I knew I would be safe when I made the choice. You didn’t. You just went where you wanted to.”
The first rays of the morning sun shone light upon the shadows they’d just been in, but they were already gone. The second day of her tournament had dawned and Violet had no idea what she truly wanted.
CHAPTER TEN
I am so not a morning person.
Areon rolled over on the notably uncomfortable bedding he’d chosen. It would leave him sore for the day, but that couldn’t be helped. The carefree reputation of the Raider Prince was just one in the long line of things that weren’t true.
Possibly
, he figured,
I could have chosen a better place to rest than right on top of the arena. Sometimes even the most cunning mercenary must convince himself of the fact.
Besides, it had been a very welcome exercise. Jumping from the complex had done nothing to alleviate his hunger to be himself again. So, Areon climbed one of the huge pillars proudly protruding from the ground to get a look at the whole area. It was vast, he had to give the Overlord that. The man wasn’t shy about showing off what he was capable of.
Such a pity he hates my guts. Both of mine, actually. We would get along so well if he didn’t. Everyone I like is bound to want me dead one day.
Areon kept himself carefully concealed under the protective cloak of his hidden armor. It buzzed very silently, a clear sign that the mirroring effect was in place. Anyone watching the pillar very closely would only see the sky. He couldn’t do with someone overly curious looking up and seeing him perched there, now could he? He was looking at what they were doing to the arena.
His mouth twisted into an amused sneer. It seemed the Overlord wasn’t going to let all the credit go to the first day. Underneath him, the arena had transformed. It was even deeper than it had been the day before. But it seemed the chasm was now firmly covered up. The vast arena stretching wide enough to accommodate all of the champions was now, well, a cage. There was no other way to describe the feeling he got while looking at the glassy roof covering the arena floor. It couldn’t really be glass or anything that fragile. No, if he knew the Overlord at all – and he did – it would be something nasty.
Areon felt he knew the Overlord quite well. He didn’t come to his service three years ago to daydream and grope his daughters. Okay, perhaps the latter a bit. He’d come disguised as Areon the bumbling fool to appear as non-threatening as possible but still competent enough to not be refused. He’d come to learn from the great champions and, as a bonus, he really
did
enjoy the charade.
And sure, he did have an eye on the prospect of checking out his famous six
calaya
daughters. Three of them had been children then. Still were. They were pretty little girls as much as he’d seen, but children nonetheless. The older three, however, had been close to their tournament age.
Meeting the girls to see if he should keep himself for one of them and avoid the tournaments was cheating, he knew that. And three years ago Areon had honestly been more excited about what the Overlord would come up with than the prizes themselves.
But then he met Violet.
She had messed something up. For a long while, Areon couldn’t say with certainty what it was exactly. Until he realized that the girl with honey blonde hair and that mischievous flash of violet in it had messed up his charade.
He was the Raider Prince. Had always
been
the Raider Prince. Long before the
Atreens had learned of his name, long before he assembled his Raiders. But all of a sudden, he hadn’t minded being Areon. Sure, it was a gamble and a chore to remain a clumsy fool, but he’d made Violet laugh. And while he kept his true powers hidden, it was still him that she seemed to like. Her laugh and her smile had kept him in the Overlord’s service far,
far
longer than he’d planned. Weeks turned to months, months turned to almost a year. Violet was growing into a woman before his eyes. And he’d made the mistake of wanting more than he was allowed.
The fall hadn’t been an accident, not by a long shot. It had been as orchestrated and choreographed as his dangling from the nook the day before. All Areon had wanted was to be near her, just once. Foolish of him to think he could settle for only
once
. He’d understood right away that from that moment on he would always be hungry for more. Just
once more
.
He still couldn’t figure out if it had been the best or worst decision of his life. Mistakes had been made.
For once, he’d underestimated Violet’s cute little temper. Completely his fault.
Calayas
protected their purity, even if he didn’t truly lay a hand on her. Her furious snap had summoned more guards and, all of sudden, he’d been dragged to the Overlord.
Areon allowed it. He could have easily killed the guards (the Overlord might have been more of a task). He’d allowed it because of Violet. She had been so lovely in her insulted pride, but underneath he saw her concern burning like wildfire. Violet had pleaded for his life. It was a terrible crime to touch a
calaya
, but his reputation as a screw-up came to his aid. The Overlord with his eyes as cold as death relented and merely banished him.
That night, Areon had been dealt the most painful wound of his life. He’d hoped that Violet might consider his promise to return as a romantic gesture, but she was still hurt. There was no
maybe
in her words. She didn’t want him to come back. Even the fact that she was talking to his Areon-persona and not him didn’t truly quench the betrayal he’d felt.
Poor little Violet. She’d probably fallen for a nice guard who paid attention to her, who made her laugh, but Areon wasn’t worthy
of a real
calaya
, the proud daughter of the Overlord.
Poor Violet indeed. In truth, she’d broken the heart of the mercenary prince she’d considered worthier of her hand. He felt bad for her. Such a clever girl surely knew not to provoke monsters face to face, but it was fine to drive away the guard.
The Raider Prince, however, was not someone to forgive and forget. Violet had a chance – but just one – to make up for her younger self, or she’d learn what happens to young girls who break the hearts of murderous bastards.
***
The morning light was now quite insistently getting in his eyes. Soon, he’d have to get down from the pillar or literally drop on someone’s head. That would be a difficult thing to explain away.
Besides, he thought he’d gotten a fairly good idea of what the Overlord had in store for them.
And I have to see what my beloved competitors are up to.
With careful, practiced ease, Areon lowered himself over the pillar top. The hidden armor purred as he did so, adjusting to the movements of his body. Hiding in plain sight had its dangers, but he thrived on it.
The drop was quite something, as was the fact he simply hadn’t rolled over the edge in his sleep. In fact, it
had
happened before when he’d practiced sleeping on a bedding roughly his own size. Many times he’d woken up free-falling, only to grin at the prospect of staring death in the eye. Mostly, it was in the form of the ground coming up fast to greet him. There had been bruises and broken bones and cracked ribs to reward his foolhardiness.
It had all been worth it, since apparently now he could do it without concern. Even with everyone ruling him out as the potential Prince, Areon didn’t really trust anything to chance. It was better to not get murdered in his sleep. What a disappointingly sad ending to his life that would have been!
He went down the same way he’d gone up. The gloves and boots he wore had claws implanted in their reinforced edges. It meant he could climb like a wild animal up a tree, but like all great things, it didn’t come without risk. It was effective, but not foolproof. He had to be careful – another character trait usually not associated with him.
Once he got down, he hid the armor. The Overlord was surely going to check them before the arena. The armor was a bit too high-tech for Areon to afford.
Not to mention it had been stolen only a month before – by the Raider Prince.
He took a moment to become Areon again. It was easier when he thought of Violet. At once, the usual emotions rose within him. Desire, lust for her supple body begging to be touched at last. Properly, with his hands and his tongue. With his whole body, really. And love, he supposed. No one went to such lengths to have someone they didn’t love. All overshadowed by the still-lingering burning hot flash of betrayal. It had a tedious way of always coming up on top.
Safely Areon again, he made his way to the practice areas.
Everyone was already there. He ignored the urge to kill when he saw Grom standing grimly on one side, talking to Forial, or rather being talked to by Forial. After overhearing the conversation Areon had no doubt what the topic was.
Sorry, Violet. Sorry, Pearl. I’m afraid I’m the star of this ball.
He exchanged a look with Reim, who, unlike him,
was
a morning person. His second-in-command had once pointed out that Areon could sleep through a siege.
Naturally, he’d taken it as a challenge. Both because he wished to see if he could and because infuriating Reim was his favorite pastime. He’d succeeded. Reim had been delightfully outraged with him.
Marelle, huh?
he thought.
Indeed. We better get you a girl too. The Overlord will flip.
Enough of them for now. Where was the real lover-boy?
A quick look around the area proved what he’d already suspected. Ronay was standing away from the others, as he had the day before. His wide shoulders were hunched, thick arms crossed over his chest. The warrior’s shoulder-length light brown hair was properly braided behind his neck, as to not hinder his vision in any way. His head was lowered in deep contemplation and concentration.
A man on a mission,
Areon thought, making his way to him, doing his best not to draw any attention.
I relate. I wonder if that is why I sympathize.
“Morning,” he said.
Ronay’s head snapped up. He had deep, sharp green eyes. His gaze was piercing, looking Areon over from head to toe. Intelligence and curiosity reflected in his solemn posture. A warrior with a head on his shoulders – not bad. Maige had taste.
“I remember you,” the warrior said. His tone was interested, but irritated.
I broke his pre-fight meditation or something. Oh boy, if you still need that, it’s going to be a rough day for you. A warrior goes from lounging to fighting in a heartbeat.
“You are the lucky bastard who caught the only nook on the wall on your way down. I’d say quit while you still breathe,” Ronay went on.